F2008-08-056
New Ways of Safe Driving
Modern vehicle safety is more and more considered in a holistic perspective. The former differentiation of active and passive safety is being replaced by an integrated safety approach - in a general context with the relationship of driver, vehicle and infrastructure and on a system level with the beneficial matching of technological solutions.
Three types of safety systems are currently in the focus of the development to reduce accident frequency, accident severity and mitigate the consequences. These are, currently with an ongoing and increasing market introduction in the premium segment, driver assistance systems, which support the driver in most of the driving tasks, particularly in critical driving situations to avoid accidents, or at least to minimise the severity of the impact - preventive safety systems which combine information on the conditions just before and during the crash, in order to control active and passive safety measures to prepare the vehicle or the occupants in view of a possible impact and finally - adaptive restraint systems for individual and best possible protection of the occupants during a crash.
Current driver assistance system solutions offer longitudinal control now in a second generation considering "user needs" and "real world" requirements. In enhancement to the originally comfort oriented cruise control function, an extended functionality for emergency braking is integrated (e.g. Collision Mitigation, Adaptive Brake Assist). In addition, lateral control functions (e.g. Lane Departure Warning) and warning functions to raise driver attention (Attention Assistance) are becoming more and more product level. In many cases a direct combination with preventive measures for occupant protection is taking place. In critical driving situations reversible belt pretensioners secure occupants in a best possible position, accompanied by additional measures to prepare the vehicle system status for an imminent impact (PRE-SAFE). In the case of an accident adaptive restraint systems protect the widest possible occupant population and cope also with the diverse range of accident types and severity (e.g. adaptive belt-force limiter, switchable airbags with multi-stage inflators).
Accident statistics in Europe show, that, despite an increasing vehicle population and growth of passenger-kilometres, all these safety measures now result in a decreasing accident risk and/or the risk to be killed or severe injured. However, it is widely commented that more needs to be done to improve road safety.
This paper shows, on which topics Daimler Safety Research is focusing on, to encounter the future requirements of vehicle and road safety beyond the further development of the above described safety systems to ensure a large-scale and sustainable contribution to highest safety standards on the road. Under the mission of "Accident free driving" the following subjects and solutions will be addressed: - Trends in consumer and market specific safety requirements - Cognitive driver behaviour and acceptance issues - Technology perspective regarding environmental perception and situation analysis (Cocooning) - Assistance functions for complex traffic situations (Intersection Assistance) - Testing and assessment methodology for pre-crash systems - Future preventive and cooperative safety systems (e.g. Car-2-Car-Communication) - Pre-Crash and Pre-triggered restraints systems
Session: Advanced Safety Systems II